Showing archive for: “Transportation”
There is No Cure for Government Incompetence
The pandemic is serious. COVID-19 will overwhelm our hospitals. It might break our entire healthcare system. To keep the number of deaths in the low hundreds of thousands, a study from Imperial College London finds, we will have to shutter much of our economy for months. Small wonder the markets have lost a third of ... There is No Cure for Government Incompetence
Efficient Cartels and the Public Interest Defence – Do They Exist?
The concept of a “good” or “efficient” cartel is generally regarded by competition authorities as an oxymoron. A cartel is seen as the worst type of antitrust violation and one that warrants zero tolerance. Agreements between competitors to raise prices and share the market are assumed unambiguously to reduce economic welfare. As such, even if ... Efficient Cartels and the Public Interest Defence – Do They Exist?
Rising Concentration, Rising Prices: Not So Fast
Wall Street Journal commentator, Greg Ip, reviews Thomas Philippon’s forthcoming book, The Great Reversal: How America Gave Up On Free Markets. Ip describes a “growing mountain” of research on industry concentration in the U.S. and reports that Philippon concludes competition has declined over time, harming U.S. consumers. In one example, Philippon points to air travel. ... Rising Concentration, Rising Prices: Not So Fast
Can Experts Structure Markets? Don’t Count On It.
Complexity need not follow size. A star is huge but mostly homogenous. “It’s core is so hot,” explains Martin Rees, “that no chemicals can exist (complex molecules get torn apart); it is basically an amorphous gas of atomic nuclei and electrons.” Nor does complexity always arise from remoteness of space or time. Celestial gyrations can be ... Can Experts Structure Markets? Don’t Count On It.
The Amazon / Whole Foods overreaction: Antitrust populism exposed
The gist of these arguments is simple. The Amazon / Whole Foods merger would lead to the exclusion of competitors, with Amazon leveraging its swaths of data and pricing below costs. All of this begs a simple question: have these prophecies come to pass? The problem with antitrust populism is not just that it leads to unfounded predictions regarding the negative effects of a given business practice. It also ignores the significant gains which consumers may reap from these practices. The Amazon / Whole foods offers a case in point.
The Case for Doing Nothing: The ‘Problem’ of Common Ownership
As Thom previously posted, he and I have a new paper explaining The Case for Doing Nothing About Common Ownership of Small Stakes in Competing Firms. Our paper is a response to cries from the likes of Einer Elhauge and of Eric Posner, Fiona Scott Morton, and Glen Weyl, who have called for various types ... The Case for Doing Nothing: The ‘Problem’ of Common Ownership
The FTC Takes on “Petitioning” of Government as an Anticompetitive Exclusionary Tactic
Background Some of the most pernicious and welfare-inimical anticompetitive activity stems from the efforts of firms to use governmental regulation to raise rivals’ costs or totally exclude them from the market (see, for example, here). The surest cure to such economic harm is, of course, the elimination or reform of anticompetitive government laws and regulations, ... The FTC Takes on “Petitioning” of Government as an Anticompetitive Exclusionary Tactic
The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
A number of blockbuster mergers have received (often negative) attention from media and competition authorities in recent months. From the recently challenged Staples-Office Depot merger to the abandoned Comcast-Time Warner merger to the heavily scrutinized Aetna-Humana merger (among many others), there has been a wave of potential mega-mergers throughout the economy—many of them met with ... The Ball-Rexam merger: The case for a competitive can market
The FAA’s proposed drone rules fail under both economic and First Amendment scrutiny
Last week the International Center for Law & Economics, joined by TechFreedom, filed comments with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in its Operation and Certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (“UAS” — i.e, drones) proceeding to establish rules for the operation of small drones in the National Airspace System. We believe that the FAA has ... The FAA’s proposed drone rules fail under both economic and First Amendment scrutiny
The Supreme Court upholds freedom of contract in American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant
[The following is a guest post by Thomas McCarthy on the Supreme Court’s recent Amex v. Italian Colors Restaurant decision. Tom is a partner at Wiley Rein, LLP and a George Mason Law grad. He is/was also counsel for, among others, Petitioner Abigail Fisher in Fisher v. University of Texas Petitioner Shelby County, Alabama in Shelby County v. Holder Respondent ... The Supreme Court upholds freedom of contract in American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant
Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis
Over at Forbes Berin Szoka and I have a lengthy piece discussing “10 Reasons To Be More Optimistic About Broadband Than Susan Crawford Is.” Crawford has become the unofficial spokesman for a budding campaign to reshape broadband. She sees cable companies monopolizing broadband, charging too much, withholding content and keeping speeds low, all in order to ... Forbes commentary on Susan Crawford’s “broadband monopoly” thesis
Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
Last week Thom posted about the government’s attempt to hide the cost of taxes and regulatory fees in commercial airfares. Apparently Spirit Airlines is highlighting another government-imposed cost of doing business by advertising a new $2/ticket fee that the airline has imposed. According a CNN report yesterday: Spirit Airlines says a new federal regulation aimed ... Options Have Value, Even If DOT Doesn’t Get It
